european union. the plans are not going well. not in the ukraine. watch this space. not in ukraine, at least. watch this space, or at least, watch that space. "first look" is up next. good tuesday morning. right now on "first look," new information this morning about that ill-fated commuter train traveling at 82 miles per hour as it approached a 30-mile-per-hour zone. later today, president obama will launch a highly coordinated campaign for his affordable care act. we've got all the details. vin diesel visits the site of close friend paul walker's horrific death and the latest surrounding the crash investigation. plus, a big night in seattle on "monday night football." and the angel of 9/11. the image that's causing quite a stir. good morning. i'm mara schiavocampo. we start with new information about that deadly train derailment in new york. the ntsb says the train was

going 82 miles per hour when it rounded a sharp curve and left the tracks. that's nearly triple the speed limit for that area. new video this morning shows the moments after the accident. you can see those huge train cars flipped right on their side. >> this is raw data off of the event recorders, so it tells us what happened. it doesn't tell us why it happened. >> when i heard about the speed, i gulped. it sort of takes your breath away. there are two choices. one would be human error on behalf of the engineer, the other would be mechanical error on the locomotive. >> eyes are now turning toward the engineer, william rockefeller initially told investigators that the brakes didn't work, but the train's black boxes reveal power was cut just seconds before the crash. four people died in that accident and dozens were injured. many victims remain in area hospitals with broken bones and spinal cord injuries.

turning now to washington and the reboot of the obama care website. later today, president obama will shift from damage control to sales pitch. it's part of a three-week effort to refocus attention on positive aspects of the affordable care act. we learned monday that 100,000 people were able to sign up for health care through the site in november. that's nearly triple the 27,000 who were successful in october, but the trouble isn't over. just 37% of people under the age of 30 are familiar with the law. getting healthy young people to sign up for obama care is a key component of the law's success. and though he's not exactly young, per se, president obama will be signing up through the online exchange. his policy will come with substantial out-of-pocket costs, though, because it will not be taxpayer subsidized. in the investigation into actor paul walker's death, officials say there is no evidence that drag racing played any part in that tragic accident. overnight, fans gathered at a

memorial to pay tribute to the fallen "fast & furious" star. walker's co-star, vin diesel, spoke to them. >> i just wanted to say thank you, thank you for coming down here and showing that angel up in heaven how much you appreciated him. thank you. [ cheers and applause ] >> nbc's joe fryer has new details about the crash and just how fast the porsche might have been going. >> reporter: investigators are looking at every possibility as they try to figure out what happened after actor paul walker got into the passenger seat of this red porsche and before he and driver roger rodas were killed in a fiery crash, but a law enforcement source tells nbc news it did not involve drag racing it was a single-car crash. sources say it was driving 40 to 45 miles per hour when it came to a bend in the road where the speed limit drops to 15. in that vicinity, the driver apparently lost control. we spoke with paul walker's

father, who told us what he'll miss most about his son. >> the way paul gave me a hug -- he really, i mean, he hugged me just like, a special, special thing. >> reporter: walker was deeply involved in disaster relief efforts and right before the crash attended a fund-raiser for his own organization, reach out worldwide. the 40-year-old acted almost his entire life but found world fame with the billion-dollar "fast & furious" franchise. still, the crews that worked with him say he remained down to earth. >> he was a guy that would eat with his crew and joke around and just be one of us. >> that was nbc's joe fryer reporting. another first from pope francis. this time, publicly addressing clergy sex abuse, selling dutch bishops monday -- "i wish to express my compassion and to ensure my closeness in prayer to

every victim of sexual abuse and to their families. i ask you continue to support them along the painful path of healing that they have undertaken with courage." and an interesting side bar. we've just learned that pope francis used to work as a nightclub bouncer way back when. catholic news service says he revealed the past to parishioners on sunday. he also used to sweep floors and run tests in a chemical laboratory. who knew? construction workers at the national september 11th museum dubbed a twisted steel gurder the angel of 9/11. from a certain angle, one can make along a pair of dark eyes along with a nose and what appears to be an open mouth. it is seen where it was hit by the first plane hijacked on september 11th. while the scientific explanation behind the visual includes natural corrosion and air circulation, the appearance of the somber-looking face is quite remarkable. and turning now to sports, my friend richard lui's here with all the headlines.

good morning. >> good morning, mara. saints at seahawks, monday night football. drew brees had a bad night. early in the game, the ball knocked out of his hands. seattle returns that one for a touchdown. while it was a great night for seattle's russell wilson, 310 yards, three touchdowns for a 34-7 win, seattle now the first to clinch a spot in the nfc playof playoffs and a new stadium noise record to boot, 137 decibels. >> sounds loud. >> it was loud. denver broncos head coach john fox back after heart surgery, saying this is the best he's felt in 20 years. >> good for him! >> yeah, his team winning three out of the last four games and topping the afc west division. that might be one reason why it feels so good. we're not sure yet if he will coach his first game from the sidelines, but good to have him back. college babble, uconn hitting a buzzer-beater as time runs out. >> wow. >> who doesn't love these things, right? >> amazing. >> huskies beat florida 65-64.

in college football, meet the new coach of the university of southern california. >> sorry, was i yawning? >> stay away. coach steve star keezan from the washington huskies, where he was 34-29. he is a so cal guy, usc's coordinator in the past. ain't nothing to smile about in this picture. security guard on left, patriots tom brady after sunday's game on the right. thing, is it's against the company policy, the guard's employers saying that, so he's fired. >> come on. couldn't have given the guy a warning? >> it's a picture, right. he's sailing around the world alone, using no fossil fuels and in less than 150 days. that would be a world record. by the way, stanley parrish is 76 and if successful would be the oldest person to ever do this. >> good luck to him. >> yeah, go, stanley. they haven't been in the playoffs in, oh, over a decade. so, a self-described ngry browns

fan sings a christmas classic to share his love for cleveland's qb. ♪ oh, the players out there are frightful, but that snuck in liquor's delightful ♪ ♪ and since weeden can't throw, let him go, let him go, let him go ♪ >> he had like six parodies. they were hilarious. and the dude perfect trick shot team is back in a sporting goods store. this time with the dolphins quarterback joining in. football into a basketball hoop, no problem. then the white escalator rafting with three-point shot into basket, and they make it. >> i'm glad he's wearing a helmet. that reminds me of something we used to do as kids, get in sleeping bags and ride down the stairs in our house. >> would you shoot basketballs in the sporting goods store? >> no, and we also didn't have a hell pet. so that's much better. a monster storm is heading east after ravaging the pacific northwest. farmdale, north carolina, is no stranger to heavy snow, but it's

causing slick roads. several crashes already have been reported and it's not over yet. the area is expecting 6 to 12 inches. there is a weather advisory in effect and a winter storm watch following. and now for a look at the rest of the forecast, bill karins is here. >> here it comes. >> well, it's about that time of year. >> it's december, and we had a little break and now the middle of the country is going to be in it. you're going to get snow and ice and maybe even some really frigid temperatures behind it. so, here's the cold blast. it's now just beginning to bleed down from canada into areas of montana, also north dakota. notice the rest of the country's pretty warm. there's also a lot of dense fog this morning. careful driving from st. louis to oklahoma city, memphis, arkansas and louisiana. we're kind of okay on the eastern seaboard. no problems weatherwise. but this arctic blast will quickly spread south throughout the next two days. by thursday we're expecting an ice storm from oklahoma to arkansas, even areas of missouri, including a coating of snow on top of that, too. so, snowfall totals will be very impressive if you're traveling salt lake city or denver, billings, fargo or even

minneapolis. be prepared for some serious delays tonight into tomorrow. and look at the temperatures fall. tomorrow's temperature map's kind of amazing. the high temperature in denver's going to be 10, where in san antonio, it's going to be 80. >> wow. wow, that's quite a spread. >> yes. that's a good sign that we have a large storm. >> thanks so much, bill. well, the battle over sales tax for internet purchases heats up. the most and least corrupt countries around the world. plus, an eighth shark attack off the coast of maui in hawaii this season. this one is fatal. we'll have the details coming up next. ooh, homemade soup! yeah...

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in the news this morning, a man fishing from a kayak off the coast of maui was attacked by a shark and died of his injuries monday. the attack occurred in a popular diving spot and is the eighth shark attack off the island just this year. the supreme court won't get involved with state internet sales taxes. amazon.com and overstock.com have been battling new york state for the past five years over the collection of state sales taxes.

the non-profit group transparency international has released its list of most corrupt countries. tied for the number one spot are somalia, north korea and afghanistan. the countries with the cleanest records include new zealand, canada and germany. the united states is tied for 19th cleanest with uruguay. well, these brown snakes are becoming a huge problem in guam, particularly at andersen air force base. to combat the snake species, 2,000 mice stuffed with painkillers will be parachuted in. why? well, painkillers are deadly to the snakes, which won't be able to resist the para trooping rodents. now for a first look at business, cnbc's hampton pearson. hampton, good morning. >> reporter: hi, mara. first of all, cyber monday sales topped $2 billion for the first time ever. adobe, which tracks 2,000 retail websites, says online sales rose 16% with a record 18% coming from smartphones and tablets. as of monday evening, amazon

sales were up 44%. walmart.com sold out of xbox one and ps4 consoles by monday afternoon. shifting gears, car sales are expected to rebound after slightly lower numbers in september and october. suv sales could be strong thanks to lower gas prices. and the mystery over those google barges may be solved. the san francisco "chronicle" reports the company plans to use them as floating retail stores for its new google glass wearable device, and that will be in san francisco, los angeles and new york. so, an early look at some business headlines. back to you and have a great day. >> good to know. you, too. thanks so much. well, "scrambled politics" is just ahead, including why new jersey governor chris christie is being called a flip-flopper. and you won't believe who's being compared to crack-smoking mayor rob ford in a new political ad. that's coming up next. [ bells dinging ]

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and with improved tracking up to 11 scans, you can even watch us get it there. ♪ you can even watch us get it there. stick with innovation. stick with power. stick with technology. get the new flexcare platinum from philips sonicare and save now. philips sonicare. and now it's time for your "first look" at this morning's dish of "scrambled politics." new jersey governor chris christie is forcefully denying that he's flipped his position on immigration. he ran his 2013 re-election campaign in support of legislation to provide instate tuition for young, undocumented students. the legislation commonly known as the dream act is about to be sent to his desk by the state legislature. but now, the governor says it goes too far and is refusing to sign it. on sunday, "the star ledger," new jersey's largest newspaper, accused christie of

flip-flopping. the editorial board cited his 2016 presidential ambitions. the republican-led house is expected to approve a ten-year extension today to an existing ban on plastic guns. these are weapons made from so-called 3d printers that go undetected by metal detectors. democrats say they'll back the plan, but some say they favor making that ban permanent. washington, d.c.'s mayor could have a bumpy road towards re-election. embattled democrat vincent bray said monday that he'll run for a second term next year. four of his high-level aides have pleaded guilty to felonies, including two who received more than $260,000 in illegal payments. well, big bird is back in the spotlight when it comes to political commercials. no, he's not in one this time. on monday, a federal appeals court upheld a ban on political ads on public television, but one ad that is hitting the airways is one from democrat george demos. he compares his rival and

president obama to crack-smoking toronto mayor rob ford. >> tired of politicians? then look at george demos. he's not a politician. george demos knows the good guys from the bad. >> interesting imagery there. well, the ad makes no further linkage between mayor ford and democrats. demos lost the 2010 primary for the seat and dropped out again in 2012. and it looks like the actual war on christmas is back again. the national republican congressional committee now has a coffee mug reading "happy holidays is what liberals say." okay. that follows a t-shirt with the same slogan. the shirt is no longer on the site because a spokesperson says it's all sold out. and that's your morning's dish of "scrambled politics." joining me now for our "first look" at politics is "newsday" columnist and political analyst ellis heneghan. thanks for being here. >> can i say happy holidays? it's a little dicey. >> if you want to call yourself labor raleigh. apparently, that's what liberals

say. >> good to see you, how about that? >> good to see you. so, let's talk about the obama care website. so, what is the reality with this site? of course it's better, right? but the bar was very low before. is it where it needs to be? >> well, no, not quite, but again, again, let's focus on this, compared to the way it was in the disastrous rollout, yeah, it's been a huge improvement, but that's kind of like saying that compared to the other glutenous members of the heneghan family, i didn't eat too much at the thanksgiving dinner, right? the bar is very low. >> right, but is it working in a way now where people can move forward and actually use it to enroll in these programs? >> yes. the vast majority of people will be able to get on the site, sign up for insurance, and we think -- and this last part is just being tested now -- we think that the information we plug in there is going to be accurately reported to the insurance company. so, i would say the water is warm, come ease in, but you

know, show a little bit of care when you do. >> today, as we reported, the president is going to be holding an event at the white house to tout the benefits of obama care. does this signal a shift now at getting back to the sales job as opposed to damage control, or are there still a lot of other obstacles he has to overcome before this smooths out a little bit? >> i think you put your finger on it. they are trying reseize the offense here, right? for the last couple months, truly, the president and those in the white house have just been slapped around about this thing. and so, they need to send -- they're going to do it for every single day between now and the 23rd of december, there's going to be a separate plank in the program that they're going to emphasize. so one day it will be, well, you can keep your kids on until 26, the next day is the pre-existing condition, you don't have to worry about it anymore. all the polls show that while obama care, you use that name and a majority of americans say, no, no, no, i don't like that. but when you start talking about what's in the bill, most people like most of it, so they need to highlight that. >> and this is work they planned to do earlier, but then they found themselves on defense.

>> exactly. the last two months of being slammed kind of pushed that stuff off to the side. >> now they're going to try and shift back. thank you very much, ellis henican. >> good to see you. >> coming up, we're back with the stories buzzing today, including a strange encounter with actor christopher walker. first, according to bing trends, who is the most searched celebrity of 2013? madonna, kim kardashian, errih a rihanna, beyonce or taylor swift? without angie's list, i don't know if we could have found all the services we needed for our riley. from contractors and doctors to dog sitters and landscapers, you can find it all on angie's list. we found riley at the shelter, and found everything he needed at angie's list. join today at angieslist.com

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before the break, we asked, who's the most searched celebrity of 2013 according to

bing trends? the answer is queen b. herself, beyonce, mrs. carter, knocking kim kardashian out of the top spot. rounding out the top five rihanna, taylor swift and madonna. >> where's miley? >> i promise you i didn't do this because i knew she was number one, our producer did. >> i know you did. >> it proves that she is the queen. all right, time for "first buzz," bill and richard have the stories we're talking about today. you have one that's getting a lot of attention online. >> it's one of those, first off, do we believe it, and then how do you feel about it once you realize that it looks like it's true. so, four days after you give birth, what do you look like? here's a picture of someone in their bra and underwear -- >> not like that. >> this is a fitness blogger from norway, carolyn berg-erickson. she's married to a professional soccer player. she said before she got pregnant, she wanted to prove to all women that you don't have to lose your body after your pregnancy. this is supposed to be four days afterwards. and people looking at it closely say if you look at her belly closely, it does look like this is post birth. >> here's my problem.

it's not that she looks fantastic after giving birth, but these are the only images women see, so they think they're supposed to look like that, when you're not supposed to after you have a baby. >> good point. >> there's skin there, your body has to shrink back. there's no balance. that's the problem. when kate middleton came out with the pooch, people weren't used to seeing it, but that's more reality. christopher walken had an interesting moment recently. he was hailing a cab, two fans see him, offer him a ride -- >> hey, there's christopher walken. >> he gets in the car, they take him where he's going and they became friends, hung around, chatted a bit and got a great photo out of the deal. >> the obligatory selfie. >> i don't know that i would get in a car with two strangers -- >> new york city. >> new york city. a little noise in seattle? yeah, so, they set a new record, 176 decibels, like a jet engine going over your head about 100 feet.

the reason why it's so loud perhaps might be the stadium design itself. see the canopies? the upper canopy as well as the upper stand create basically large megaphones. they were mimicking the huskies stadium. >> this is "first look." "way too early" starts right now. ♪ of course, thanksgiving, as always, reminded me of what i'm most grateful for, that poor people still can't get health insurance because the obama care website remains a disaster, even though now the administration's website gurus are bragging that healthcare.gov is working more than 90% of the time. that's good enough for government work. get on the school bus, kids! principal obama says the bridge is 90% complete! >> you'd better get ready, folks. let's hope it goes better the second time around. the white house about to go on a pr offensive surrounding the health care law. also this morning, we know a lot more about what happened before the deadly train

derailment in new york, the speed, the engine and now attention seems to be squarely on the driver. and the hardest working newsman at it again, from a north carolina newscast to a north of the border curling match, ron burgundy takes his polyester to canada. this is "way too early." >> look at this. >> there it is. ♪ >> pretty good form out of will ferrell up there on the ice. good balance, good follow-through. good morning, everybody. brian shactman here, tuesday, december 3rd. we have a pretty shocking route on "monday night football." we'll have highlights in sports. and a selfie from one of the most infamous evil-doers in cinematic history. we'll have details and you can get involved with the twitter question. but we begin with the new york trail derailment. this morning, investigators are turning their attention to the engines